The surface dose and the spatial distribution on the membrane delivers important data for measuring dose-response relationships in toxicity studies. Image evaluation of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples is a highly sensitive method for determination of deposition. This paper reports the development and characterization of a novel holder for film coated TEM copper grids, which allows for sampling under identical geometric and ambient conditions as in a cell culture chamber.

This article provides a method for culturing and exposing the human bronchial epithelial cell line Calu-37 at the Air-liquid Interface that mimics realistic, repeated inhalation exposure conditions that can be used for toxicity testing. By applying a continuous airflow using the Automated Exposure System, the cell model can be exposed to a low concentration of particles over a longer time period, reflecting realistic exposure conditions. Characteristics of both the cell model and of the exposure system are essential for achieving a realistic inhalation exposure model that can be used for repeated exposures.

09 March 2019, Hilton Inner Harbour Hotel, Baltimore, USA

Following the VITROCELL® User Group Meeting 2018 in San Antonio, Texas, USA, international scientists from Europe, Japan, Korea and USA reconvened in March 2019.

The informal event organized into short presentations and posters was followed by open discussions. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss the latest developments of VITROCELL®, to exchange your experience in working with the equipment and to meet other fellow researchers.
The meeting took place prior to the international Society of Toxicology 58th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 10 – 14, 2018, in Baltimore, USA - one of the largest international conferences related to toxicology.

Focus of the event was to share VITROCELL® activities since the last meeting, to exchange latest research results, to give an update on VITROCELL’s participation in major research programs as well as the presentation of new products for 2019.

Manufacturers invest in nonanimal tests to evaluate health risks of e-cigarettes and other next-generation tobacco products

c&en, Volume 96, Issue 43

Britt E. Erickson

The complexity of next-generation tobacco products has increased by a number of factors since FDA was given responsibility to regulate tobacco. Testing e-liquids with animals is not practical, economically and not that accurate. The Vitrocell system generates airborne materials from test products, such as smoke from reference cigarettes and vapor from e-cigarettes, in a manner that simulates how a person would puff. This artcile shows, how IIVS scientists use human donor tissues, obtained from organs, to create cell cultures and in vitro test systems.

The distribution and impact of aerosol-delivered functionalized AuNPs upon repeated administration were explored in a complex in vitro human lung epithelial tissue barrier model applying an air–liquid interface exposure approach. Nanoparticles were aerosolized using the Air-Liquid Interface system consisting of a nebulizer, an exposure and an incubation chamber connected to an air-flow system to provide optimum conditions for cell cultivation as well as a quartz crystal microbalance for online measurements of the NP dose deposited on the cells surface.

In this study two innovative in vitro techniques were combined: The Vitrocell® Powder Chamber and the human cell based MucilAir™ system. Their combined use allows the investigation of the effect of aerosolized pollen and appropriate drugs on a human mucosal tissue, a similar scenario finding in humans. The release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) was quantified as an initial cellular response to pollen contact and to confirm the protective effect of drugs.